INDIANAPOLIS — The Arizona Cardinals’ two biggest NFC West rivals just got tougher up front.
The Indianapolis Colts traded All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, and are sending defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth-round pick, The Associated Press reported via Arizona Sports.
The deals came one week after Colts co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired general manager Chris Ballard, who drafted Nelson sixth overall in 2018. Nelson, the league’s third-highest-paid guard, was an All-Pro from 2018 to 2020, and his contract expires after this season.
Seattle, the defending Super Bowl champion at 4-3, hopes Nelson can revive a run game that has struggled since Kenneth Walker III left in free agency. The Seahawks host the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Buckner, a three-time Pro Bowler, returns to the team that drafted him seventh overall in 2016. The 32-year-old has four sacks for the Colts this season. The Buckner trade can’t be finalized until he passes a physical, according to a person familiar with the deal.
San Francisco leads the NFC West at 6-1 and is on a bye this week. The 49ers host Seattle in Week 12.
Sources: Associated Press via Arizona Sports. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: EJ Hersom / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
